Castantion Cancellations
by BethyNettle
Summary: The Doctor and Rose land on a planet where people are disappearing and it's something to do with the famous skybus network.  Set after Fear Her .
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so please review to let me know about any spelling/grammar mistakes, plot holes or character flaws.**

**Enjoy :)**

ONE

"Welcome aboard Rexwing Vehicle 539. We will be travelling from Castantion City to Section 12 of the Hantia Metropolis. Enjoy your journey with us and please remember to stay seated throughout the flight," the woman's tinny voice crackled out of the speakers of the sky bus. Not that anyone was paying attention. It was gone midnight and the travellers on the bus consisted of: a group of young women, obviously back from a night out; an old woman, grumbling to herself, and a man with blue skin, sleeping against the window. Jolting slightly, the bus raised itself from the station and began its slow, clunky journey towards the Metropolis on the horizon.

The 539 series were probably the worst to travel by if you were looking for luxury or comfortable travel. But this was to be expected as Section 12 was pretty much ignored by the local authorities and left to its business. The crime rates were higher than any other area of the city and the inhabitants were definitely not the friendliest bunch. Max, the blue skinned man, had been burgled more times than he could care to count and was taking his chance to sleep on the bus as it was probably safer than nodding off in his own home. Even the old woman was considering sleeping for the journey home, but decided against it, not trusting the girls at the back of the bus. She was nervous around strangers and she had never seen these girls in her neighbourhood. This was probably because the girls weren't actually from Section 12 at all. They had just missed the last bus to Section 10 and had decided it would be easier to catch the 539 to Section 12 then walk the rest of the way. 'Safety in numbers' was on their side, they thought.

After about twenty minutes, the bus jolted violently, waking Max and causing a few of the girls to squeal and then giggle at each other's reactions. The old woman grabbed the chair in front of her for support and cursed as her elbow hit the window. The bus jolted again, more violently this time and one of the girls was thrown from her seat to the amusement of her friends. Blushing, she sat back down again.

"We seem to be experiencing a little turbulence. We will try to make the rest of our journey as smooth as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience. We will hope to be arriving in Section 12 in around fifteen minutes. Please ensure any litter is disposed of in the –" the woman's voice was cut short as the bus jerked ferociously from side to side. It was like an earthquake, but how was that possible? The speakers the voice was coming from detached from the wall and the group of girls was flung forward, screaming. Terrified, Max tried to grab hold of the bar by the window, but could not as he was thrown from his seat onto the grimy floor, which started to crack. The old woman shut her eyes tight and continued to grasp the seat in front her, her knuckles white. The bus continued to shake and the structure began to moan and creak as the cracks from the floor spread to the walls and chunks of paint and metal began falling. A section of the ceiling collapsed landing on one of the girls who screamed as her friends watched in horror. Sparks flew from where the speakers had been and the bus trembled as the structure became weaker, not coping with the stress on the metalwork. There was a final jerk before the entire ceiling caved in and the bus tumbled towards the ground, gathering speed.

Meanwhile, at the Castantion control room, a red light flickered on the screen. It took a few seconds before Gaz, who was on duty, noticed the flickering light.

"Amy!" he shouted for his manager, "Amy, we have a problem with the 539!"

Amy, a tall brunette with extremely pale skin, entered, a look of confusion etched on her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look," Nick pointed at the screen, clicking the light to bring up the bus' details, "the 539 is sending out an SOS and there seems to be a problem with the engine."

Amy took a seat next to Gaz and began clicking a series of buttons before pushing the microphone button on her headset.

"539, this is the Castantion Station, do you read me?" There was silence on the line and the pair waited a few anxious seconds.

"Rexwing Vehicle 539," Amy continued, bringing up a map on the screen, a green dot symbolising the position of the bus. It had stopped completely, almost half way between Castantion and Hantia. "539 are you there? Do you read me? Come in 539!" She was scared now, Gaz could hear it her voice. There was more silence. And then, the dot on the map disappeared. The two stared at the screen, frozen.

"What does that mean?" Gaz said finally, "How can it just disappear? That can't happen. The signal box is indestructible and has a lifespan of almost 200 years."

"Yes I know, Gaz. But it has happened and we need to get a crew out there, right now. You stay here and try to get contact with anyone on that bus. I'll call the emergency services and the rescue team." She ran out of the room, leaving it unnaturally silent as Gaz stared at the monitors for some kind of signal, running his fingers through his hair.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

"Here we are then!" the Doctor exclaimed, "the great city of Castantion! Although, nobody actually lives here because it's a retail city. Fantastic restaurants and a shopping experience to die for" he grinned at Rose from across the TARDIS console, like a child on a trip out, Rose thought.

"Alright then," Rose smiled back, curious, "What _planet_ are we on?" She still wasn't used to asking that question, even after all this time.

"Pedress. Now come on or you'll miss the party," he was already by the door, stepping outside.

"What party?" Rose called as she rushed after him, smiling.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" a smile curled the side of his mouth, "today is the great bus festival."

Rose tried to hide the disappointment on her face.

"The …bus festival?"

"Yup. Castantion is famed for it's many and fantastic bus services and each year the city plays host to a festival. Parties, drinking, interpretive dance and general activities of fun," he grinned at her childishly. "Although," he said, looking around, "it seems a bit quiet for a festival don't you think?"

Rose looked at the city around her. There were large shopping centres, restaurants and clubs lining the street, not so much different from a city like New York or Japan, but the shops were advertising alien merchandise in their windows and the posters on the buildings were portraying concerts and products which Rose had never heard of. There definitely wasn't a party atmosphere.

"You haven't got the dates wrong again have you?"

"Hold on," the Doctor strolled over to a newspaper stand labelled '_Daily__Castantonio__' _and pulled out a paper, glancing quickly at the date. "Nope, it's definitely today. Excuse me," this time he was talking to a passing woman who, Rose noticed, was freakishly tall and towered over the Doctor, "Could you tell me where the Bus Festival is taking place. Or have we missed it?" he smiled, charmingly.

The woman's eyes widened as she said, "The Festival has been cancelled," then she walked quickly away, looking back worriedly.

"Guess we're going elsewhere then?" Rose asked as the Doctor walked back to her.

"No. I think we'd better stick around," he said, handing her the newspaper he'd been holding, pointing at the front-page headline.

'_**BUS DISAPPEARANCES LEAD TO FESTIVAL CANCELLATION'**_

_The increasing number of mysterious disappearances of Castantion's buses has led to the council cancelling the famous Bus Festival as they try to resolve the problem. The council originally planned to postpone the event until further notice, but decided on cancellation after protests by family members and friends of the lost travellers and bus crews. Full story on page 5._

Rose took a few moments to read the article.

"You mean to say we're staying here to look for a few stray buses?" she asked, not impressed.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor exclaimed, "but first, let's explore the shopping district of the planet," Leaving her no choice but to follow him, the Doctor made his way over to the nearest shopping complex, hands in his pockets and that grin on his face again.


	3. Chapter 3

**THREE**

"Go on," the Doctor urged, "just try it! The Dougin is a delicacy here. It would be rude not to at least take a tiny bite."

Rose, unconvinced, took a bite out of the green slab of food she was holding. It was rubbery in her mouth and had a strong taste of horseradish. The Doctor laughed as she pulled a face and grabbed a napkin to spat it out. He grabbed the remaining Dougin and ate it before Rose could down her drink to wash out the after-taste.

"Shut up," she laughed, punching his arm playfully from across the table.

Before he could respond, a boy of about 18, Rose would have guessed, ran into the restaurant, shouting "Molly! Molly! Has anyone seen Molly?" Everyone else in the room went silent and looked as confused as the Doctor and Rose did.

"Please! She's only ten. She was meant to be on the 305, but it's gone." Suddenly there was a rush of conversation as the diners yelled about people they know on bus 305 or about how yet another bus had gone missing. One woman ran out of the restaurant followed by her two children ranting something about her husband. The boy, now in the centre of the room, collapsed to the floor in tears. Rose turned to look at the Doctor, but he'd already gotten up and was making his way over to the crying boy.

"Come on," he said "let's go outside."

He gestured to Rose to follow him and they made their way to the front of the bistro.

After calming the boy down the Doctor spoke, "Hello," he smiled, "I'm the Doctor. And you are?"

"Gaz," the boy sniffed, "Gaz Rocial"

"Alright Gaz, tell me about Bus 305."

"It left about an hour ago for Section 5. You know," he looked at their confused faces, "of the Hantia Metropolis."

The Doctor nodded but Rose was still nonplussed.

"The what?"

"The Hantia Metropolis," the Doctor explained, "is the main residential city of Pedress. Just like Castantion is purely retail, Hantia is pretty much just residential, not counting the odd pub or corner shop."

"Yes," Gaz said, irritated by the interruption, "but the 305 was meant to reach there after about twenty minutes, but it disappeared, just like the rest of them, and my sister, Molly, was on her way home with her friends," his voice tailed away and he put his head in his hands. Rose placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked pleadingly at the Doctor.

"Right," the Doctor had his serious face on, the one he had when he was thinking really hard, "Can you take us to the main Bus Control Centre, Gaz? Do you know where it is?"

"Of course I do," Gaz said, "I work there."

"Even better. Come on," he had a spring in his step but Rose could tell he was worried.

The Bus Control Centre was a tall, white building with the logo of a pterodactyl painted above the double doors by the entrance, joined with the words 'Rexwing Vehicles'.

"I shouldn't be doing this, bringing you here," Gaz said, stopping, "I could lose my job. I'm not meant to talk to people about the disappearances," The panic was evident in his eyes and the Doctor nodded solemnly.

"You can stay out here if you want, but Rose and I are going in. We'll find out what's happening here, Gaz," he held the boy by his shoulders, looking him in the eyes, "I promise." And with that, he turned on his heels and headed for the entrance.

"But you'll never get past security!" Gaz called after him.

"Oh, I have my ways," the Doctor replied, holding up a leather wallet. Gaz was left staring at where the Doctor had been, wondering what on Pedress the man was talking about. And what kind of name was 'Doctor' anyway?


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

"Good afternoon Sir, how can I help you today?" the woman behind the reception desk asked, her smile covering the majority of her face. Rose tried not to stare; the woman was like any other stereotypical receptionist – blonde, tall and with an eccentric fake smile – but this woman was blue and even after travelling the universe, Rose still wasn't completely used to alien appearances and all she could think of was Smurfette from 'The Smurfs'. She struggled to keep a straight face as the Doctor continued the conversation.

"Hello," he said, smiling, "I was wondering if I could speak to the manager about all these disappearing sky buses."

The woman's smile twitched as she explained that the manager couldn't see members of the public right now and could she take a message.

"Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary," the Doctor said, showing her the paper inside his wallet. What was Rose saw was a blank piece of paper, what the receptionist saw was credentials for the government inspector 'John Smith'.

"Of course Sir," the woman said quickly, her smile returning to its original glory, "if you take these visitors passes, the manager is on the 4th floor," she handed over the passes then gestured towards the lift, "I'll phone ahead to let her know you're coming."

The Doctor and Rose stood silently in the lift before Rose asked, "So how many buses have gone missing over all? How many people?"

"Didn't you read the article earlier?" He didn't give her a chance to answer, "Thirty one buses – including the 305 - and around one thousand people."

"But like you said, this city and the Metropolis are huge, how can buses just disappear?"

"Exactly," the Doctor said, "which is why we are paying Miss Bus Manager a visit."

The Doctor knocked three times on the door labelled 'Amy Secard: Manager of Rexwing Vehicles'. Before anyone could answer, he opened the door and strolled in, holding aloft his psychic paper.

"Good afternoon," he said and the woman behind the desk jumped before standing up to greet him.

She was a tall woman, with dark brown hair in a rough bun, tendrils hanging down as if she'd been working so hard she'd not bothered to keep up appearances. She was unusually pale, like she'd never seen the sun, and her eyes were bright blue.

"Hello, I'm Amy Secard, and you must be John Smith. Sorry for the mess," she gestured to piles of paperwork around the room, which she had obviously been studying before they walked in, "it's been a bit hectic around here lately. And, erm," she looked at Rose curiously, "you are?"

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said before Rose could speak, "she's on work experience."

Rose darted a look towards the Doctor who had a glint in his eye as he tried not to laugh. He'd pulled a trick like that recently, when they'd been investigating the disappearance of children in an ordinary street in England. But now, they were in the office of a skybus network on another planet. And the Doctor still found the joke just as funny.

"Now, tell me about these buses, Amy," he took a seat at the desk and propped his feet up on the wood.

Amy sighed and sat back in her chair, "It all started two months ago. A 539 sent an SOS then disappeared completely. We thought it could have just been a break down; the 539's were a bit neglected compared to other series. But then more and more did the same and however hard we look or however long the police search, no remains are ever found. But what makes it even stranger is the fact that each bus has a signal box installed."

"Like a black box in an aeroplane?" Rose asked

"Precisely, it contains information about where the bus has been and who has been scanned on, and it sends a signal right back to here, in this building. Even if the box were across the other side of the galaxy, we'd get a signal. But there's nothing. Not a blip. Thirty one buses and not a sign that they ever even existed."

Amy was obviously distressed and shaking slightly.

"Amy," the Doctor said as a tear began to roll down the woman's cheek, "do you know someone who's gone missing?"

"I challenge you to find someone here who hasn't lost someone they know. Everyone uses the buses. We have to."

Rose saw something change behind the Doctor's eyes. Was that anger?

"You mean the buses are still running?" he was almost yelling.

"Of course they are! What else do you propose?"

"I don't know! Anything! One thousand people have disappeared but you're too busy running a business!" he was shouting loudly now and the woman cowered away, averting her gaze.

He was about to shout some more, but Rose gently squeezed his arm and they exited the office. Rose looked back and smiled apologetically at the manager, but the Doctor kept walking, not looking back.

Once they'd exited the Rexwing building, there was no sign of Gaz. He'd probably gotten too bored or scared and gone home. By bus. Rose gulped then turned to the Doctor, "What do we do now then?"

"We, Rose Tyler, are going to catch a bus." She stared at him as if he'd gone completely insane. "But first," he continued, "I need to get some stuff from the TARDIS, which is…" he licked his finger and held it up into the air, concentrating, "this way!" and he strolled off in the direction he was pointing.

They had walked for around ten minutes when there was what must have been some sort of earthquake. An almighty grinding noise forced everyone in the crowded streets to cover their ears and drop to the ground, looking around in panic. The ground seemed to be shifting beneath their feet and the Doctor grabbed Rose and pulled her out of the way of a falling sign. Cracks appeared in the road, splitting the street in two. Then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Groups of people emerged slowly from inside buildings, wide eyed. There was an uneasy silence, then panic. People and aliens of all kinds were running and yelling, shouting into mobile phone-like devices.

"Rose. TARDIS." The Doctor didn't need to say anything more and he grabbed her hand and ran, pulling her along behind him.

The road, where the TARDIS had landed earlier that day, was now busy with panicked citizens, but that wasn't what bothered the Doctor and Rose. The TARDIS was gone.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, looking around in despair, "I hate it when that happens. It makes everything so much more difficult!"


	5. Chapter 5

FIVE

The queue for the 494 bus was longer than Rose would have liked and the atmosphere was tense. Everyone in the line knew they were gambling with their lives by taking the journey home, even the children who stared blankly ahead or at their parents.

"Why don't they just walk?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.

"It would take hours and the wastelands between here and Hantia are dangerous."

"What? More dangerous than this?"

The Doctor shrugged but stayed silent.

He had decided they'd take a bus to the nearest point of the Metropolis – the shortest journey - so as to have a smaller chance of disappearing. Rose shuddered at the thought and tried to shift her mind to other things. The Doctor wanted to talk to the residents of Hantia to try to find out more information on the missing people.

A voice crackled over the tannoy system, breaking the silence of the station. "Could all passengers for Rexwing Vehicle 494 please make their way to the station, the skybus is about to depart. That is all passengers for 494, the skybus is about the depart."

"This is it then," Rose muttered and the Doctor nodded, holding her as not to lose her in the now moving line.

The skybus looked like one of those Volkswagen Camper Vans, only much larger. The front section – where Rose supposed the crew were – had blackened windows and large headlamps protruding from the front of the vehicle. The back section, where the passengers sat, could have easily held up to fifty of sixty people. Rose shivered at the prospect of a full bus, simply disappearing taking the crew and passengers along with it. As people entered the bus, they each swiped what looked like a bus pass over a scanner by the door. For a moment, Rose wondered how they would get on the bus without a pass, but then the Doctor whipped out his wallet and scanned the psychic paper across the unit. It beeped its acceptance and they both stepped over the threshold and into the vehicle, taking a seat a few rows back from the front. They were both silent, as were the rest of the passengers. All forty or so of them.

"Welcome aboard Rexwing Vehicle 494. Today we will be travelling from Castantion City to Section 2 of the Hantia Metropolis. Our journey should take around ten minutes and please dispose of any litter in the bins provided." Even over the speaker system, the woman's voice was shaky. The bus lifted silently from the station and rose higher than Rose would have liked and started to make its way to Section 2.

Around five minutes into the journey and the bus was gliding above large plains of dirt and rocks. Not so far away, Rose could see a vast area of tall buildings expanding all the way to the horizon and probably beyond. If the situation wasn't so nerve racking, she may have been amazed by the sheer size of the Metropolis. But not one person on the skybus said a word.

Then the cabin lurched forward. The bus swayed from side to side. It lurched again, with more force this time, forcing the passengers to grab seats and bars for support. Rose grabbed the Doctor's arm and he looked at her, trying to conceal the fear in his face. The other passengers also knew what was happening and some began muttering silent prayers. Children grabbed their mothers, burying their heads into their clothes, trying to escape their inevitable fate. A window smashed on the opposite side of the bus and glass shattered over several passengers, though not harming them severely. Screams erupted from several passengers as the vehicle shook and trembled with great force. Just before the cracked ceiling of the cabin gave in, Rose turned to the Doctor about to tell him something, something she should have said a long time ago. But then everything went black and silent.

Rose awoke with a pain in her head like someone was squeezing her skull as tightly as they could. She sat up and put her hands to her aching head cursing at the pain. There was a muffled sound but her vision was swimming so she couldn't see the origin of the noise. There it was again. A short burst of stifled noise. And again, longer this time. Then she heard her name. It was slightly muffled and soft but it was definitely her name. "Rose?" It was clearer now and it was a man's voice, "Rose, can you hear me?"

"Doctor?" she murmured as her vision joined her hearing in clarity. A smiling face swam into view. A young face with deep brown eyes. Her Doctor.

"Boy am I glad to see you," she said, smiling back. Then she remembered, "Doctor, what happened, the bus, it – " she stopped to massage her head which was still throbbing.

"It's all right, well, I say all right. Everyone's here. There's all forty-three passengers safe and well, but we don't know where we are. Or, indeed, what happened."

"Oh, fantastic," Rose said sarcastically, the pain slowly ebbing away.

"If I were to take an educated guess – which I'm very good at" he added, smiling cheekily, "I'd say it was a form of teleport, 'Beam Me Up Scotty.'"

He helped her to stand up and she looked at her surroundings. They were in a room with the forty-one other passengers of the 494. The four walls were grimy concrete; outlining the square room they were in. At the opposite end of the room to Rose was a large metal door without a handle or opening mechanism.

"Can't you sonic that open?" she asked, pointing.

"Of course I can!" He grinned, "I was just waiting for you."

She couldn't help but smile.

After only a few moments of probing the door with his sonic screwdriver, there was a series of clicks as the mechanism behind the door began to unlock. The Doctor had convinced the passengers to stay as silent as possible and to wait until he said the coast was clear before they could exit the room. He slowly pushed the door, which opened into a corridor just as grimy as the room they were in.

"Let's go," he smiled at Rose and they stepped out of the door and down the corridor.


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

More doors came off the corridor leading into rooms similar to that which they had just exited. As the two walked further down the hall, they came to a large circular room, with a door on the opposite wall and a slightly raised platform in the centre. On top of this stood piles of computer parts and monitors, scattered across the floor. Smaller rooms lined the outside of this one, with bars instead of doors.

"It's like a zoo," Rose thought aloud, peering through the bars.

"A zoo," the Doctor nodded, "or a prison."

Rose gave him a scared look, "but if it's a prison…" she tailed off.

"Then where are all the prisoners?" the Doctor finished her question for her and the two shared a look, before the Doctor jumped up onto the platform and began examining the mechanical devices strewn across it.

"What is this stuff?" Rose asked, "It looks like junk to me," she gently kicked a broke monitor to prove her point.

"It is," the Doctor replied, "All the good bits have been taken out, this is just the leftovers."

A little confused, Rose looked at the man pick up various items, scan them with his sonic screwdriver then throw them back on the floor.

Through the door across from the way they had entered, Rose and the Doctor found several more rooms, each with a raised area, several cell units around the outside and broken machinery scattered across the floor. They were mainly silent as the Doctor examined each room carefully, but neither of them came across anything of interest, until they came to the penultimate prison room in the sequence. The door leading to the next room was locked. Cautiously, they walked around the platform, towards the door. Before the Doctor took out his screwdriver he pressed his ear to the door, crinkling his forehead in concentration.

"What is it? What's behind there?" Rose said, a little panicked.

The Doctor put his fingers to his lips, before holding up his sonic device and scanned what was behind the door for a few seconds.

"Just as I thought," he murmured, looking at the side of his tool.

"What?" Rose insisted, quieter this time.

He looked up at her and thought for a few seconds, deciding whether to tell her what he knew. He had to, of course, he had to tell her.

"Rose, before you were wondering where all the prisoners were. Well, they're still inside this prison. Well, behind this door to precise," he put his hand against the cold metal, "And there's something else behind her too." Rose gave him a puzzled look, worried at what his next words would be. "The machine parts that were taken," he said finally, "were taken to build something. And if I'm right, they've built a Transmat beam, right under Castantion." It took another tense minute or so before everything clicked in Rose's mind. Long ago, when she first started travelling with the Doctor, a Transmat stole them away and threw them into a game station. Transmat beams, essentially, teleport something from one place to another, she thought - like a person, or a bus, or even a transcendentally dimensioned time machine.

The Doctor waved his sonic screwdriver over the door and the lock clicked open. Just as he and Rose had expected, there was another circular room behind with a raised platform. And there, on the platform, proudly stood a tall blue box. But it was what the room was filled with that made Rose's eyes widen in horror and grab the Doctor's arm in fear.

The room was teeming with creatures. There must have been around thirty of them, swarming around the TARDIS and various machines that were plugged into the wooden panels with long black cables and wires. The creatures were tall and pale, almost white in colour. Their flesh hung in folds from their frame, cracked and dry. Their eyes were sunken back into their skulls and the skin around their mouths was split. Their heads turned to stare at the pair who had entered he room.

"Hello," the Doctor said, attempting to appear cheerful, "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose." Several of the creatures made grunting noises to one another and one approached the Doctor, towering above him.

"You will help us," it said, it's voice scratchy and hoarse.

"And why would I do that?" the Doctor looked the creature in the eye, questioningly.

"You will help us," it repeated, spitting slightly.

"That's not an answer," the Doctor replied, "Tell me what you want."

There was silence as the pale man thought to itself.

"You will help us and we will leave," it gestured towards the TARDIS.

"You can't get in," the Doctor realised, "You can't get into the TARDIS."

"Why do they wanna get into the TARDIS?" Rose whispered to him, still keeping her eyes on the thing standing in front of the Doctor.

He turned to her, "The lunatics have taken over the asylum," he said, smiling a little as he quoted, "But they're stuck inside with no way out. Until now." He nodded towards the TARDIS, "That's why the buses disappeared, they were transported here by the Transmat beam."

"But if that's the case, where are they? The buses, why aren't they here?" her question was aimed at the Doctor but the creature replied.

"They were too weak," it was looking at Rose now with its sunken eyes and she backed away slightly, "They shattered into dust."

"But what about the people? The passengers. You killed them," Rose tried not to cry with the fear and anger she was feeling.

The creature showed no sign of emotion, "They mean nothing."

"And with that," the Doctor said loudly and sternly, "you have just gone into my bad books and, trust me, you don't want to be in my bad books," he looked the pale thing straight in the eye, "I won't help you."

"That is where you are wrong," its mouth twisted into what could almost be called a smile, "You will help us, or they will die."

Without asking, Rose and the Doctor knew it was referring to the passengers of the 494 and that with this threat, they were left with no choice.


	7. Chapter 7

SEVEN

The machines in the room exploded and sparks flew in the area, singing a few of the creatures, which were unfortunately close to the monitors. The sonic outburst disrupted all electrical items in the room and caused the creatures to panic and run from the machines, which had now caught fire.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted at rose over the commotion and the two sprinted towards the TARDIS and hurriedly turned the key in the lock before flinging the door open and then slamming it behind them. The noise from outside was suddenly cut off. Rose breathed a sigh of relief and leant against the back of the door. The Doctor, not stopping to relax, ran to the console and hit a combination of buttons and levers. The rotor rose and fell and the grinding noise started to signal the dematerialisation as the TARDIS slowly began to disappear from the prison room. But then the TARDIS jolted and re-materialised, unable to transport itself.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Rose shouted over the unhealthy sounds the time machine was making.

"It's stuck. Oh, they are clever."

"Why aren't we moving?"

"The cables, Rose. They couldn't open the TARDIS but they managed to ground it with the wires. They must have programmed the computers to keep the TARDIS stable. We can't move," his hands moved quickly over the console, frantically pressing more buttons, "They're very clever. But," he winked at Rose, "I'm brilliant. We just need a bit. more. power." His words were separated as he pulled a particularly stiff lever, "Hold on," he called to Rose. Before she could grab the console, the TARDIS lurched upwards and she fell to the floor, cursing. There was an almighty scraping noise as the TARDIS finally managed to pull itself free from the wiring holding it to the platform.

"And, goodbye!" the Doctor said cheerfully as he flicked a final switch and they dematerialised.

Just a few moments later, the box reappeared in a room full of people - the passengers from the 494.

"Get in, get in, get in!" the Doctor flung open the doors and shouted at the passengers who were cowering; the explosions from the prison room were causing the entire structure of the building to shake and the flickering of flames could be seen behind the doorway to the room.

Dazed and confused, each person began running into the box, expecting to be crammed in. Before any of them could comment on the police box being bigger on the inside, a pale hand came from behind the door to the grimy room. An arm followed it, and then a body, and then the entire creature, burned and red was standing in the room. The passengers screamed and piled into the TARDIS almost knocking Rose off her feet as she held open the doors.

"No!" the thing called as it stumbled towards them. It tripped on his fire-damaged feet and began crawling towards them, dragging its bleeding body across the concrete floor.

Before Rose could shut the doors, it spoke to her, looking her straight in the eye.

"You will die, Rose Tyler. You will die in battle so very soon." Then the doors closed, shutting the creature on the outside and Rose was left staring at the wooden boards. A hand held her shoulder and she turned to look at who had shut the doors. The Doctor stood behind her.

"Doctor, what did it mean?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing," he replied and turned to walk through the crowd of people standing in the console room.

"But I've heard that before," she said, almost to herself as she slowly followed him.

The TARDIS landed in the city of Castantion not long after and the passengers piled out into the street, baffled as to how this machine had had transported them in a matter of minutes.

"Are we off then?" the Doctor said to Rose who'd stepped outside to get some fresh air. He came out and pulled a few wires from the blue wood, stroking his machine sympathetically.

"No," Rose, her blonde hair blowing to the side from the breeze, "there's someone we need to talk to."

The Doctor watched from a distance as Rose sat down with a curly haired boy he realised to be Gaz. He watched as Rose broke the news that his sister was never coming back and what had happened to the buses. The boy put his head in his hands and his shoulders shook as he cried. She put her arm round him and rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes moved upwards and she met the Doctor's gaze. He held his hand out to her and she kissed Gaz's cheek before joining the Doctor. They walked hand in hand back to the TARDIS.

"So what happened to the prison?" Rose asked when the TARDIS was in flight. Her words broke the silence and the Doctor looked up at her.

"Collapsed, probably. Nothing could've survived that after the explosions. I think we got out just in time," he sighed and sat next to her on the tattered leather seat. He smiled and she smiled back weakly.

"What that thing said, in the prison," she began.

"It was nothing," he interrupted her, as he looked away, his face serious.

She didn't say another word, but the words of the creature echoed in her ears.

"You will die, Rose Tyler. You will die in battle so very soon."

**~Thankyou for reading! Please review to let me know of any spelling/grammar mistakes, plot holes or character flaws. I don't want to make this Complete yet until I know people think it's okay :] ~**


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